Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Breast

The whole family will love this easy chicken recipe. It’s not too spicy and the chicken is super juicy! This blackened chicken is slowly becoming my favorite recipe to meal prep.

It’s very versatile! For example, look at this delicious healthy salad topped with sliced blackened chicken breast. It’s so easy to make a delicious meal with the blackened chicken.

Whether you want a quick and easy lunch, or meal prep for the week you’ll love this air fryer blackened chicken recipe!

This flavorful chicken will rival the best blackened chicken recipe out there!

bowl with lettuce, tomato and parmesan cheese with sliced blacked chickened on top

Why you’ll love this easy air fried blackened chicken

Quick and Easy Recipe – This recipe has barely any prep! And the air fryer is a breeze to cook with and clean!
Great for Meal Prep – chicken is so easy to meal prep! Make a side salad or make veggies in the airy fryer and you’ll be set!
Budget Friendly – no fancy expensive ingredients! You can get all of the ingredients needed for this recipe at your local grocery store.

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken breast
Avocado oil
Seasonings: salt, paprika, Italian, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

ingredient photo for blacken chicken. Seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, onion, garlic, cayenne, Italian seasoning) Avocado oil

Tips & Tricks

To ensure the chicken breast is juicy, make sure to not overcook them! Remove the chicken breast from the air fryer when the internal temperature reaches 165F with a meat thermometer.

Let the chicken breast rest for 5 minutes after you remove it from the air fryer basket before slicing. This allows the chicken to absorb it’s juices and not dry out.

If you’re cooking more than one blackened chicken breast at a time, make sure to place them in a single layer.

Tools

Air Fryer – I love using my Cosori 5.8QT air fryer!
Tongs
Meat thermometer

How to make Air Fryer Blackened Chicken

Make the Blackened Seasoning: In a small bowl add all of the spices. Mix until they are well combined.
Next, coat the chicken breast with avocado oil and then sprinkle the chicken breast with the blackened seasoning.
Transfer the chicken breast to the Air Fryer Basket.
Cook the chicken breast at 390F for 18 minutes flipping over halfway through.
Remove from the Air Fryer basket.
Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

All the dry seasoning in a bowl — Add seasonings into a mixing bowl.

All the dry seasoning in a bowl mix together — Add seasonings into a mixing bowl.

Stovetop Directions

Combine all the seasoning into a bowl and mix them together
Pat the chicken breast dry with a paper towel. Rub the seasonings onto the chicken breast
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet, over medium heat.
place the chicken breast into the skillet and cook for 10 minutes 5 minutes on both sides. Making sure the internal temperature is 165F.
Remove from the skillet and serve with your favorite side.

Substitutions

If you don’t want to make a homemade blackened seasoning, you can buy a store bought spice mixture or even a cajun seasoning.
If you don’t have any boneless skinless chicken breasts, you can use split chicken breasts, chicken cutlets, chicken thighs or even chicken tenderloins instead!
I really don’t like using olive oil in my air fryer, but in a pinch you can use it instead of avocado oil.

What to serve with Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Breast

One of my favorite go-to’s is Basmati Rice in the Instant Pot. You can also slice the chicken and make a chef salad, Cobb Salad or even top it on a Caesar salad.

bowl with salad in blacked chickened on top with hard boiled eggs and blue cheese crumbles for on side

How to store

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
For meal prep, you can freeze a meal for up to 3 months

How to reheat

Remove the lid from the container and microwave on high for 1 to 1.5 minutes or until chicken is warm. Alternatively you can transfer to a microwave save plate.

If you want to warm this up in your air fryer, cook for 2 minutes at 400F.

blackened chicken breast cut up on a white plate

FAQs

What does blackened mean in chicken?

Blackened chicken doesn’t mean that the chicken is burnt. Instead blackened chicken means that the seasoning take on a very dark brown almost black coloration.

Is blackened chicken healthier?

Blackened chicken is typically baked or grilled, and in this case air fried. These are healthier cooking methods than deep frying. Also blackened chicken is not coated in flour so it has less carbs and calories than fried chicken.

What is the difference between grilled and blackened?

Traditionally blackened refers to spices being used. Grilled refers to a cooking method.

More Air Fryer Chicken Breast Recipes

If you loved this easy blackened chicken recipe, check out these other chicken breast recipes made in the air fryer.

More Air Fryer Recipes to try